


Of wagging tails and hearty laughters

by beanpudding



Series: Of petting, blushing and other expressions of affection [1]
Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Blushing, Crushes, Fluff, Jack's wolf ears and tail, M/M, Pre-Relationship, just jack and epel being cute together, playing with hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25609522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanpudding/pseuds/beanpudding
Summary: If you are a wolf, you’d probably enjoy being petted - especially by someone you like.
Relationships: Epel Felmier/Jack Howl
Series: Of petting, blushing and other expressions of affection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856248
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	Of wagging tails and hearty laughters

The sun had already begun to set beyond the horizon painting the entire field in gentle golden hue. Jack, however, paid it no heed as he gulped down another swig of water from his bottle. It had been a good evening jog and he was already starting to feel slightly tired, but there was no way he was going to head back to his dorm just yet. Not when he had such a lovely companion with him.

Slowly Jack’s golden eyes turned to the said companion sitting next to him on the bench. Epel sat there, drinking unceremoniously and definitely not elegantly from his own water bottle, ponytail slightly undone, long lashes fluttering softly against his still a tad flushed cheeks. He looked absolutely dashing even with his messy hair and sweaty face, but frankly speaking, was there ever a situation where he didn’t?

Jack had been extremely happy when Epel had asked to join him on his evening jogs a couple of weeks ago. Of course he had accepted without hesitation. They got to spend a lot of time together at school since they were classmates and all, but to be honest, Jack wished he could be with Epel more. He was fun to talk with, determined to hone and improve himself, strong-willed, competitive and always seeing things through. He was just that kind of strong Jack admired, and honestly, it made his heart skip beats. Not to mention Epel was also a beauty to behold no matter who you asked.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Epel finished his drink and turned to the bigger boy. Jack tensed slightly, getting caught staring and now having those bright blue eyes gazing back to his golden ones.   
“What it is, Jack-kun?” Epel asked after wiping off the splashed water droplets around his mouth with the back of his hand.   
“Nothing!” Jack answered quickly and after a short while added, “Good job today! I feel like you have become faster”.   
He held his fist out for Epel to bump it with his own. The smaller teen did just that, lips turning to a proud and satisfied smile.   
“Thanks! Good job, Jack-kun!”

Their fists lingered against each other a tad too long and after feeling awkward enough, the boys lowered their hands to their laps and turned to face away from each other. Looking straight ahead to the setting sun, Jack felt his face grow warm. Epel’s hands were so small compared to his own, but they were kind of rough and sometimes had tiny cuts as if he had done lots of physical work using them. Knowing that his family owned an apple farm and that he was very determined about potions, it wouldn’t be an unreasonable guess.

To be honest, Epel’s hands were another part of him Jack really liked. They were a contrast of sorts to his beautiful face that revealed what kind of hard worker he was. Somehow that made them even more appealing than if they would be silky soft and perfectly cared. Having those hands ruffle his hair or tail was an exciting thought Jack kept but was too shy to ask for.

As if reading his mind, Epel spoke.   
“Umm… Jack-kun… Could I ask you something?” he said, turning to face his friend again, but eyes avoiding contact. A dusty pink color had returned to his cheeks and Jack could swear he looked almost shy.   
“Sure. What is it?” he answered, curious.   
“Uh… If you don’t mind, could I touch your ears and tail?”   
Now it was Jack’s face gaining color. Did he hear right? Did Epel want to touch his wolf parts?

Epel was growing redder by the second as the silence dragged on.   
“I’m sorry! I was just curious! I shouldn’t have asked”, he tried to wave off his request and embarrassment as he took the lack of an answer as a no.

Jack finally remembered to open his mouth.   
“No, no, don’t be sorry! I don’t mind if you touch them!” he assured.   
Epel’s eyes perked up at this and he finally looked straight at Jack.   
“Really?” he confirmed, clearly growing excited for the idea of getting his curiosity fed.

However, now it was Jack’s turn to avoid eye contact as the fact that his secret dream was turning real properly drew in. He felt extremely lucky but also nervous.   
“Really,” he answered bashfully. “Just be careful.”   
“Of course”, Epel smiled softly and reached his arms up towards Jack’s head.   
The wolven boy swallowed nervously before lowering his head enough for Epel to reach it comfortably.

Without hesitation Epel let his tiny fingers sink into Jack's white hair, resting them by the side of his perky ears. Breath caught in the bigger teen's throat at the contact. His entire face felt so hot it was almost unbearable and his muscles grew stiff as he waited for his friend's next move. He hung his head low hoping the rapidly increasing beating of his heart wouldn't be audible to Epel's human ears. Jack knew this would feel intimate but he didn't expect to be so caught by shyness when barely anything had even happened yet.

Epel began by rubbing his fingers against Jack’s scalp, soft hair twirling between them. He let out a curious hum as his fingertips started to run around more broadly.   
“Your hair is surprisingly soft”, he commented, not halting his ministrations.

Jack didn’t know how to answer. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he could even speak without stuttering at this point. So he decided to keep quiet, not that Epel seemed to mind, and just focused on the feeling. The initial shock of having a friend he was crushing on touching him slowly wore off and Jack could let his body relax at least a little bit. His tail started to wag calmly in a steady rhythm.

The somewhat hard skin on Epel’s palms offered a pleasant contrast against Jack’s softer locks. His fingers were short but thin, going around the top of his head, rubbing small circles in an absolutely wonderful way, leaving pleasant tingling wherever they went.   
Yes, Jack thought, he really liked Epel’s hands.

Slowly he raised his head just enough to take a peek at Epel’s face. The smaller boy didn’t seem to notice, eyes firmly on his hands working on Jack’s mane. His lips remained in a soft smile and Jack couldn’t help noticing the light blush adorning his already adorable face, highlighted gloriously by the colors of the setting sun. Jack wondered if Epel was feeling as nervous yet content as he was. Was his heart skipping beats too? Jack turned his gaze to Epel’s chest, right around where his heart was, and pondered how close he should get for his wolven ears to pick up the possibly increased heartbeats of his friend. Maybe he’d need to press his head against his chest to hear, though that was a thought Jack was too shy to consider for longer than a brief moment.

He didn’t get to take action as Epel surprised him by gently brushing his fingertips against his fluffy ears. They twitched immediately and Jack jumped to sit up straight, face even more flushed, if that was possible. Epel pulled his hands back quickly and stared back at Jack, face red and surprised as well.

“Sorry! Did that hurt?” he asked concernedly, looking apologetic.   
“It didn’t hurt!” Jack hurried to assure his friend, not wanting to cause unnecessary concern. Then, he added bashfully, “It’s just that… My ears are kind of sensitive... I think you just surprised me, that’s all. No need to worry.”

Epel kept staring at Jack firmly yet apologetically, wanting to make sure his classmate was not trying to play the issue down only to not make him feel bad about it.   
“Do you mean it, Jack-kun?” he asked sternly, not leaving room for waving it off.   
“Yes”, Jack insisted. He knew Epel was the type to not budge so being honest was always the easiest way with him. Not that he had any reason to lie in the first place. He really didn’t want Epel to worry about hurting him.

The Pomefiore student seemed to accept the answer and smiled brightly.   
“That's good”, he said.

Silence fell over them again. The intimacy of the situation seemed to drew back in the minds of the two and quickly they averted their gaze off each other. Jack’s heart hadn’t been calm for a good while now and it was still beating unnecessarily fast against his ribcage. The silence was dragging on and Jack was thinking hard what to say or do to end it, but his mind was completely empty. No thoughts, only memories of Epel’s lovely hands moving around his scalp spun across his brain on repeat.

Luckily, Epel figured out something to say.   
“You know, Jack-kun, your hair was a lot softer that it looks. Thank you for letting me touch it.”   
Jack nodded in answer as he turned to face Epel again. His bright eyes were watching him gently and a small shy smile adorned his sweet face. All the affection in Jack’s heart for his wonderful friend was about to overflow and he found himself wishing yet again for enough courage to vocalize his warm thoughts. He wanted Epel to know how deeply appreciated he was and that he was free to pet Jack as much as he wanted, he just needed to ask. The wolven boy would promise to get less nervous about it.

That reminded him of something.   
“Actually”, Jack began and coughed once to make sure he wasn’t stuttering. “My tail is kind of soft too and not as sensitive as my ears. You wanted to touch it too, right?”   
His face was heating once again because of his own suggestion, but so was Epel’s as that curious and excited spark returned to his eyes.   
“Would you let me?” he asked eagerly, fingers already twitching in anticipation although he tried to conceal it by pressing them to a fist.   
“Sure”, Jack assured, not believing how lucky he was today. Both headrubs and tailrubs by Epel? Unbelievable.

Honestly speaking, getting petted on the head had been almost too much for Jack considering it had been by far the most intimate he had been with his friend. Tail ruffles he could probably handle just fine. It wasn’t as sensitive area as his head.

Jack turned his back to Epel, straddling the bench they were sitting on, and placed his big fluffy tail to Epel’s lap. The smaller teen sank his fingers into it immediately and fluffed the long white hair around.   
“Wow, this is even softer than your hair”, he commented sounding absolutely enamoured.

Jack peeked over his shoulder to see Epel’s face all lit up and content. He himself was feeling rather content too. Having his tail touched didn’t make his heart skip too many beats and his face wasn’t apple red either. He was just very pleased, especially once Epel started to move his hands around quicker in a ruffling manner.   
“So, so soft”, Epel continued, speaking mostly to himself.

Feeling happy, content and excited made Jack’s tail react by starting to wag rapidly. Epel raised his hands off in surprise as the fluffy tail started to hit his lap softly. Jack was suddenly filled with embarrassment and reached to stop the wagging with his hand.

“Grrr…” he growled lowly to his unruly tail. “Sorry, Epel, the wagging is a reflex”, he explained, embarrassment not dying down. Could his boisterous tail maybe not hit his friend slash crush while he was getting petted? That would be great.

Epel, however, did not seem to mind at all. He circled his arms around Jack’s now still tail and hugged it close to his chest.   
“Does the wagging mean you’re happy, Jack-kun?” he asked with a tiny mischievous tint in his voice, aiming his knowing gaze straight to Jack’s eyes. The wolven boy felt warm flush returning to his cheeks and he quickly averted his eyes by facing away again.

Epel giggled cutely, sounding victorious.   
“I feel happy”, he said more quietly that his earlier confidence would have suggested.

Jack looked back at him, catching a glimpse of his once again slightly pink cheeks before Epel buried his face into the tail he was still hugging and gently nuzzled against it.   
“I like how soft and fluffy it is”, he mumbled barely audible, face full of wolf hair.

Jack’s heartbeat sped up again. How was it possible for someone to be that adorable? Not only that, but how was it possible that very same adorable person was currently nuzzling his head against Jack’s tail? Getting Epel’s hands to his tail was not too much but his face certainly was completely different thing. How come he was this lucky?

And just like that Jack’s tail reacted to his feelings and started wagging fast, hitting Epel straight to his face. The wolven boy looked horrified by the actions of his fluffiest body part. No one wanted to be hit on their face for sure.

However, Epel just laughed. His hearty laughter rang across the field as the tail kept hitting him and brushing the long hair against his nose. Jack sighted relievedly yet he still felt embarrassment. At least Epel didn’t seem angry with him.

“Sorry”, Jack mumbled as he reached to stop his wagging tail again.   
“Don’t worry, Jack-kun”, Epel reassured, his laughter dying down as the movement stopped. He reached to hold the tail again against his chest and nuzzled it softly. “It just tickles”.

The nuzzling made the tail restart its wagging which in order made Epel laugh again. Jack grumbled, trying to grab his tail once more to stop it, but Epel reached for it first.   
“Let it move freely, Jack-kun. It’s so cute”, he smiled, making Jack’s heart explode.   
_ You’re cute, _ he thought as Epel continued petting and nuzzling his tail, this time not stopping it when the wagging happened again. Epel’s delightful laughter rang in his ears and all the way in the bottom of his heart.

Perhaps one day Jack would find himself brave enough to tell Epel what kind of feelings he harboured for him. For now though, he contentedly settled for sharing his days with him and cherishing that loud but happy laughter and sweet smile.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I have uploaded publicly in 9-ish years and the second fic ever I have written in English instead of my mother tongue so you can probably guess how nervous I am feeling.
> 
> The original idea for this story was simply that I wanted to write about Epel giving Jack some tail rubs which would end up in him getting his face hit by the very same tail as it started wagging happily. Somehow this ended up being a 2k fic of just pure fluff, but I don't mind. It was fun to write.
> 
> Anyway, Jack and Epel are cute together and I wish for people to stop sleeping on this ship. Hopefully chapter 5 will bring more people to this pair and hopefully this fic won't age horribly once we get Jack and Epel to interact more. Toboso and the rest of twst writing team, don't let me down now!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this fic and if you'd like, please check out the second oneshot for this series once it's up.


End file.
